Cygwin is a set of programs for Windows that gives you an environment very similar to linux. To install it, go to the Cygwin website and download the installer by clicking “Install cygwin now”. You will get a program called setup.exe. Run it, answer some basic questions, and you will be presented with a list of options. Make sure that the following packages are selected for “install” (click once on the name of the package and wait a second):

Under the Devel section: “gcc” and “make”

Under the X11 section: xorg-x11-devel

Under the Libs Section: tcltk

Finish installing all of the software, and run the Cygwin shell. To make sure you have everything, try running “gcc”, “make”, and “wish”. Messages other than “no such command” should appear.

All of the cygwin files can be found from Windows in the default directory C:\CYGWIN. Your personal files will be in C:\CYGWIN\HOME\USER, where USER is your username. Take a look around the Cygwin system now.